Postgraduate support

We look forward to showing you why the University is consistently ranked as an excellent place to study and learn, why the Faculty of Arts and Humanities is widely recognised as a centre of excellence in our many subject areas and how we will prepare you for your next step in your career or further learning.

Welcoming you to Stirling

We understand that arriving at a new University, perhaps in a new country, can be daunting. As well as running a series of welcome events to help you settle in quickly, the University has a dedicated Student Support team which can assist you with everything from exam preparation to personal or financial challenges. Your course staff and personal tutor will also be on hand to support you throughout your studies. Our welcome events will help you meet staff, other students and learn a little about how things work at Stirling.

Postgraduate taught course welcome meetings

Each course has introductory meetings and activities so you can meet the staff, other students and learn how things work at Stirling. You'll get essential information to help you settle in and find your feet.

Download the app

Download the University of Stirling app to see the introductory sessions for your course. Click on the tile called "Postgraduate Welcome Week" and filter by your Faculty to view the dates and times for the course welcome sessions.

Get the University of Stirling app from the App Store or Google Play Store.

If you're unable to download the app you can also view the events on the app website.

Get work-ready with our postgraduate employability course.

Find out more

What to expect from postgraduate study

As you move from undergraduate to postgraduate study, you'll find a much stronger emphasis on self-directed learning, and an expectation that your own intellectual curiosity will drive your studies to a far greater extent. You'll need to be able to deal with a greater level of abstraction and theoretical complexity. You'll also be expected to engage with and in the most up-to-date research, and develop your own innovative ways of thinking about topics.

You'll need to develop your critical research and enquiry skills, as well as relevant technical and practical skills, and you'll become a much more autonomous learner, developing the skills of self-organisation and self-motivation. You'll also need to learn to deal with the unpredictable nature of research, and how to cope with both negative and positive results from your data and/or research. Lastly, you'll learn about appropriate professional attitudes, behaviour and values in your discipline, including learning ethical behaviours, developing academic integrity, recognising the need to reflect on methodology, and becoming part of a research community.

All of these challenges will ultimately push you forward in your area of specialism, empowering you to enhance your future opportunities.

Research seminars

We run a lively schedule of research seminars within the Faculty of Arts and Humanities, giving you the opportunity to hear from international experts in your field as they present their cutting-edge research. The seminars also present a great opportunity to meet fellow postgraduate students from the Faculty, so make sure you don't miss out.

See upcoming seminars

Faculty Postgraduate Support

Our divisional offices look after the needs of students and staff across a range of disciplines and programmes, co-ordinating student training skills and development, and ensuring we provide a rewarding and enjoyable student experience. If you're studying a postgraduate taught (Masters) programme, you will most likely meet your programme administrator at one of your first meetings, and if you are starting a PhD with us, please make contact when you first start to meet professional services staff. They will be your first point of contact throughout your time at Stirling and can help you with any queries or problems that you may have.

Professional services staff are based in the Pathfoot Building.

Communications, Media and Culture – FAH-CMCPG@stir.ac.uk
History, Heritage and Politics – fah-hhppg@stir.ac.uk
Law and Philosophy – lawandphilosophy@stir.ac.uk
Literature and Languages - LitandLangPG@stir.ac.uk

Employability

95% of our postgraduate leavers are in employment or further study within fifteen months of graduating (Graduate Outcomes Survey 2021, HESA). We offer a comprehensive employability and skills programme to help you maximise your time at university and develop the graduate attributes required by employers. Our ILM accredited Postgraduate Plus+ programme offers students the opportunity to develop employability skills alongside their studies.

Find out more about postgraduate employability.

Student voice – make a difference to the student experience

Through our Students’ Union we have a system of Student Faculty Officers and module representatives who represent students, making sure the student voice is part of all decisions which affect student learning. Get involved and make a difference, while developing leadership skills and credit on your degree transcript for the work you do. More details will be available at induction.

Key contacts

For Postgraduate Taught (Masters) students, your main point of contact will be the Director of your Masters programme. However, every Faculty also has a Director of Postgraduate Taught, and the Faculty of Arts and Humanities Postgraduate Taught Director is Dr Tim Jones.

For Postgraduate Research (PhD students), your main point of contact will be your PhD supervisor (and other members of your supervisory team, if appropriate). Each Faculty also has a Director of Postgraduate Research, and the Faculty of Arts and Humanities Postgraduate Research Director is Professor Holger Nehring.

Course Directors

Course	Division	Course Director
MLitt/MSc Gender Studies	Communications, Media and Culture	Dr Darren Elliot-Smith
MRes Media Research	Communications, Media and Culture	Dr Will Dinan
MSc Media Management	Communications, Media and Culture	Katherine Champion
MSc Public Relations and Strategic Communication	Communications, Media and Culture	Alenka Jelen
MSc Strategic Communication & Public Relations (PFU - Barcelona)	Communications, Media and Culture	Alenka Jelen
MSc Public Relations and Strategic Communication (Online)	Communications, Media and Culture	Alenka Jelen
MS International Journalism	Communications, Media and Culture	Dr Will Dinan
MSc Digital Media and Communication	Communications, Media and Culture	Professor Steven Buchanan
MSc Heritage	History and Politics	Dr Jennie Morgan
MSc International Conflict and Cooperation	History and Politics	Dr Clemens Hoffmann
Masters in Public Policy	History and Politics	Paul Cairney
MLitt Creative Writing	Literature and Languages	Liam Bell
MSc English Language and Linguistics	Literature and Languages	Andrew Smith/Bethan Benwell
MLitt Publishing Studies	Literature and Languages	Caroline Wintersgill
MRes Publishing Studies	Literature and Languages	Caroline Wintersgill
St Andrews-Stirling Philosophy Graduate Programme (SASP)	Law and Philosophy	Philip Ebert
MSc Human Rights and Diplomacy	Law and Philosophy	Dr Damian Etone Professor Rowan Cruft
LLM International Energy Law and Environmental Law	Law and Philosophy	Simon Marsden
MRes Historical Research	History and Politics	Colin Nicolson
MRes Humanities	Literature and Languages	Kelsey Williams
MSc Global Politics and Policies	History and Politics	Professor Toni Haastrup

Other key contacts

See the full Arts and Humanities staff directory.